In June 2003, the US Environmental Protection Agency surprised Plymouth State University in New Hampshire with a routine inspection of how their labs were managing chemical waste. The inspectors found cardboard boxes filled with different chemicals in high-traffic areas, a potential hazard should one chemical react in a dangerous way with another. As the inspectors were briefing school officials about their concerns, they heard an alarm: One of the boxes had started smoking when a construction worker bumped it, causing chemicals to leak. The area was evacuated, the fire department was called; no one was hurt. The proposed fine levied by the EPA, which first went public with the incident in March: $171,050.